Department for Transport

Taxis: Greater London

Lord Higgins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of levels of congestion and pollution in London, whether they will take urgent steps to ensure that Transport for London has powers to limit the numbers of private hire vehicles they license, if possible without legislation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government supports choice for consumers, and wants to see both taxis and private hire vehicles prosper in London and elsewhere. The Mayor and Transport for London, together with the police and local authorities, have a range of tools available to them to deal with congestion and vehicle pollution. Effective use of these tools will allow both licensed taxi and private hire vehicles to lawfully meet the demands of London’s travelling public.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Lord Steel of Aikwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total amount raised by Vehicle Excise Duty in each of the two years prior to abolition of the tax disc, and in each of the subsequent years.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The amount of vehicle excise duty collected varies year on year. A decrease of £300 million in vehicle excise duty income between 2014-15 and 2015-16 was previously forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility due to expected decreases in the average cost of licences issued as vehicles continue to become more fuel-efficient. The actual reduction for the financial year 2015-16 was £93 million. The tax disc was abolished in October 2014. The following table shows the net revenue for each full financial year prior to and after the abolition of tax disc: YearVehicle Excise Duty collected £m2012-13£6,0132013-14£6,0522014-15£6.0232015-16£5,930

Home Office

Intelligence Services: Private Sector

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for greater regulation of the private intelligence industry.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Firms operating in the private intelligence industry must operate within the law of the state(s) in which they are conducting their business.Furthermore, the Government is committed to ensuring the integrity of the private security industry and this includes private investigations. The regulation of private investigators was included within the scope of the recent review of the Security Industry Authority.Once the findings of the review have been published, the Government will carefully consider any recommendations in relation to private investigators.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the strategic importance to the UK of having a domestic steel industry; and whether the National Security Committee has discussed this issue.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion. However, Government is committed to ensuring a sustainable and competitive steel industry in the UK. We have taken action on public procurements of steel, in response to requests from the steel sector. In Autumn 2015, Government issued guidance to central government departments on how to ensure that they take full account of the value provided by UK steel producers when conducting their procurement activities. All central departments, their agencies and arm’s length bodies are already required to apply these guidelines on relevant projects. In addition, the steel procurement pipeline published in December 2016 will enable UK suppliers to plan to bid in response to procurement opportunities. I can confirm that UK suppliers have provided significant quantities of steel for major defence equipment procurement programmes – such as both of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the involvement of the governments of Germany and the Netherlands in decisions by steel manufacturers whether to invest in their respective countries, whether they intend to become involved in such decisions relating to the UK.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government’s goal is to work with the UK steel sector to create the right environment for investment and growth. At the request of the sector, we commissioned research into future market opportunities for UK Steel and the capabilities it will need to capitalise on these and to succeed in a competitive global market. We will continue to engage with the sector, as well as with the unions, the devolved nations and other partners as we seek to find a long-term viable solution for the industry.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the reduction in the size of the UK steel industry, what steps they are taking to retain the skills of UK metallurgists, particularly in the area of steel innovation.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This Department is funding an independent study to identify the future markets for steel products, and anticipate what capabilities the UK steel sector will need to capture these opportunities. This will include increasing the capability of the sector to innovate, and ensuring that the UK steel sector can benefit from the significant investments made by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and InnovateUK. These support UK capability in materials science, including steel, through their support for research and R&D, and specialist research and technology institutions such as the Sir Henry Royce Institute and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

Tata Steel: Port Talbot

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with Tata Steel about the future of the Port Talbot plant following the end of the five-year commitment to keep two blast furnaces at the plant and avoid compulsory redundancies.

Lord Prior of Brampton: On 7 December, Tata Steel UK and the unions reached provisional agreement on a package of measures, including guarantees in relation to future employment, production and investment at Port Talbot, and changes to the current pension schemes. These proposals will be subject to a ballot by the workforce between 30 January and 16 February, and are a commercial matter for the company and its employees. The Government remains in contact with Tata Group at all levels, and we remain committed to securing the long term future of Port Talbot. The Government is also committed to working with UK steel producers, trade unions, the devolved nations and other partners to create a sustainable and competitive steel sector in the UK.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Turkey: Politics and Government

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the suspension of Garo Paylan, a member of the Turkish parliament, for making a reference to the Armenian Genocide; and what representations they have made to the government of Turkey concerning his suspension.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: This specific case has not been raised with the Turkish Authorities.

NATO

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with other members of NATO following the remarks by the US President-elect that the alliance is obsolete.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK has regular discussions with all NATO Allies on the full range of issues affecting the Alliance. Our goal is an Alliance that is capable of planning for and responding to the full range of threats its members face.

NATO

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they will make to the US President-elect after his inauguration following his description of the NATO alliance as obsolete.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: During their meeting at the White House on 27 January, President Trump told the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) that he is 100% behind NATO. We will continue to work with the US to ensure NATO is capable of planning for and responding to the full range of threats its members face. This must include NATO Allies investing more in their own defence.

Israel: Diplomatic Service

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the investigation by Al Jazeera into the action of Israeli embassy staff in the UK, whether they intend to expel any of those staff.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK has a strong relationship with Israel and we consider the matter closed. The Israeli Ambassador apologised for the actions of an individual about whom concerns had been raised.

Israel: West Bank

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning the data collected by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs showing that, during 2016, the Israeli authorities demolished or seized the highest number of West Bank structures since recording began in 2009.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK position on demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is clear: demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international humanitarian law. The Fourth Geneva Convention is clear that the destruction of property in Occupied Territory is not justified unless it is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations. The Fourth Geneva Convention also makes it clear that individual or mass forcible transfer of protected persons from occupied territory is prohibited. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv has raised our concerns on demolitions with the Israeli authorities and has urged the Israeli authorities to provide a legal route for Palestinians to obtain building permits.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning the report by Defence for Children International – Palestine that in 2016 there was the highest number of recorded cases of abuse towards Palestinian children in the past decade.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK continues to have strong concerns about continued reports of ill treatment of Palestinian minors, particularly those held in Israeli military detention. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv meet with the Israeli authorities on a regular basis to advocate for the end of night-time arrests and summons, consistent access to lawyers and parents for all minors and implementation of other protection measures. Our Embassy officials raised these issues most recently with the Israeli authorities on 19 January. This issue remains a human rights priority as the UK is firmly committed to the protection of human rights and compliance with international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We remain committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention in Israel.

Israel: Bedouin

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning the demolition by Israeli forces on 2 January of 10 structures in the Palestinian Bedouin community of Khan al Akhmar.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Our position is clear; demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international humanitarian law. The Fourth Geneva Convention is clear that the destruction of any real or personal property in Occupied Territory is not justified unless it is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations. We also make clear to Israel that forcible transfer would be a breach of international humanitarian law and would have serious ramifications on Israel's international standing.On 3 November, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), met with Abu Khamis, leader of the Khan al Ahmar Bedouin community, and an UN Relief and Works Agency official to discuss the situation in Area C. On 29 November following the Minister's meeting, our Consul-General to Jerusalem made a return visit to Khan al Ahmar, where he also met with Abu Khamis.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the shooting by Israeli forces of Mohammed al-Salhi.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: ​While we have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this specific issue, we have an ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities about the Israel Defence Forces' use of live fire. We remain concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents. We regularly raise these concerns with the Israeli Government, stressing the need for proportionality and proper accountability.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the reported wounding of two journalists by Israeli soldiers in the week commencing 5 January.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not raised this specific issue with the Government of Israel. However, we are clear that protection of the freedom of the media is an important part of respecting human rights.

Ukraine: Sovereignty

Lord Risby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the UK and Ukraine, what programmes are in place to support Ukraine's independence, and our bilateral relationship.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK is using a number of Government funding streams in Ukraine, including the Conflict Stability and Security Fund and the Global Britain Fund. In the Financial Year 2016/17 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is administering approximately £28 million worth of programme work covering a number of areas such as support to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, EU Advisory Mission, demining and defence, anti-corruption, public administration reform, strategic communications, and reform of the business and economic environment.

Department for International Development

Sierra Leone: Health Services

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of UK financial support to Sierra Leone for family planning and sexual reproductive health and rights is provided through (1) direct bilateral aid to the government of Sierra Leone, (2) the United Nations Population Fund, (3) non-governmental organisations, and (4) other mechanisms.

Lord Bates: Over the next five years, UK assistance aims to save the lives of 2,000 women and provide family planning for more than 134,000 women and girls through our 5-year Saving Lives programme.To date(1) No funding is being given to the Government of Sierra Leone as direct bilateral aid.(2) Two thirds is being provided to the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organisation, who submitted a joint proposal of how they would work together to achieve most impact.(3) One third is being provided to non-governmental organisations.(4) No funding is being provided through other mechanisms.Further funding decisions will continue to be based on our assessment of which offer the best value for money and highest development impact.

Sierra Leone: Overseas Aid

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to support Sierra Leone with regard to (1) tax revenue, (2) agricultural practices, (3) tourism, and (4) job creation.

Lord Bates: (1) DFID is supporting the National Revenue Authority to increase domestic tax collection and the Ministry of Finance on tax policy. To date, our support has helped boost the Sierra Leonean Government’s tax collection from 8% to 11% of GDP from 2006 to 2014.(2) Agriculture has the potential to increase incomes for poor families and the Smallholder Commercialization and Agribusiness Development Project aims to reach 50,000 people, of which 40% will be women and young people. This project, which DFID are funding with the World Bank, focuses on improving access to markets by upgrading 500 km of rural roads, increasing access to finance and helping farmers to get a better price for their crops.(3) DFID is not supporting work on tourism in Sierra Leone.(4) On job creation we are funding the Strengthening Opportunities for Business Action programme. This project works with local enterprises and entrepreneurs to help them identify and take opportunities to expand their businesses and create more jobs. DFID expect that nearly 60,000 poor men and women will increase their annual incomes by more than 10%.

Sierra Leone: Health Services

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will support the government of Sierra Leone in improving its general healthcare system.

Lord Bates: DFID is funding two major interventions to strengthen Sierra Leone’s health systems. The Resilient Zero programme is helping the government be ready for future public health emergencies, including new cases of Ebola. Our assistance is helping to put in place surveillance systems so that new cases are identified early; to prevent infection in health facilities including through investment in water and sanitation; and to train health workers.The Saving Lives programme is focused on ensuring women and young children, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable, have access to good quality basic services. Its goal is to save the lives of over 22,000 children and over 2000 women, as well as providing family planning for more than 134,000 women and girls.

Kosovo: Overseas Aid

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, with respect to Department for International Development funding programmes, what status Kosovo has as a post-conflict state requiring assistance.

Lord Bates: The Department for International Development does not provide any direct funding support to Kosovo.

Department for Education

Higher Education

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which universities responded to the call for evidence on accelerated courses and switching university or degree; and, of those, how many allowed credits for previous study.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: We received responses to the Call for Evidence from 30 universities, out of a total of 44 responses from higher education providers. Of these 30 university respondents, 25 (83%) said they take students who transferred to their institution from other providers.Publishing a list of those universities who responded to our recent Call for Evidence and details of their responses would risk damaging our relationships with them, as we would be releasing information directly related to them and their operations. This would not be in the public interest as it could potentially limit our capability to gather evidence from these institutions in the future.

Higher Education: Student Wastage

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many students dropped out of their graduate degree course in each of the years from 2012 to 2015.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students enrolled at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). The percentage of UK domiciled full-time first degree entrants at UK HEIs who did not continue their studies in the following year are published as part of the ‘UK Performance Indicators for Higher Education’ and can be found at:https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/performance-indicators/non-continuation.The latest available statistics, found in Table T3a, show that 27,580 UK domiciled full-time first degree entrants at UK HEIs in the 2013/14 academic year were no longer in higher education in the following year. The equivalent statistic for entrants in 2012/13 showed that 24,745 entrants were no longer in higher education in the following year.

Higher Education

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to ensure that all higher education institutions have published credit transfer arrangements in place; and how those arrangements are monitored.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The information gathered through our recent Call for Evidence on accelerated courses and switching university or degree has provided valuable data and insight. It has highlighted the key barriers to the take-up of credit transfer opportunities, including a general lack of information and awareness. We are now fully considering the available evidence before deciding on next steps.

Ministry of Justice

Marriage

Baroness Thornton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to enable the recognition in law of marriages in England and Wales conducted by a humanist celebrant; and if so, when.

Lord Keen of Elie: The Government is carefully considering the report published by the Law Commission on initial scoping work to identify the issues for potential reform of the law concerning how and where people can get married in England and Wales, including considering the differences in treatment that already exist within marriage law alongside any further differences that would result from permitting legally valid non-religious belief marriages.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

World War I: Commonwealth

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to commemorate the role played by Commonwealth countries during the First World War.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: All Government’s First World War Centenary events reflect the enormous contribution of those from across the Commonwealth. This significant contribution is reflected through cultural and military content such as readings and musical performances. In addition to this the first event of the centenary programme at Glasgow Cathedral on 4 August 2014 specifically focused on the commonwealth contribution to the war. We also invite representatives from the participant nations to our events and will continue to do so when we commemorate the Centenary of Passchendaele – The Third Battle of Ypres on 30/31 July this year and Armistice in November 2018.

Data Protection: EU Law

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, given that data centres resident in the UK will no longer be subject to EU data protection rules following the UK's withdrawal from the EU, whether they will seek the UK's continued participation in the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 covering cross-border flows of personal data.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: The General Data Protection Regulation will apply to EU member states from 25 May 2018. We fully expect still to be in the EU at that point, and so we will ensure that the General Data Protection Regulation will apply in the UK from then. Thereafter, as part of plans for the UK’s exit from the EU, the Government is considering all the options on the most beneficial way of ensuring that the UK's data protection regime continues to build a culture of data confidence and trust, that safeguards citizen and supports business in the global economy.

Mass Media

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have met social media providers to discuss how to combat the spread of fake news online; and what their policy is for addressing the issue.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: We are currently considering the implications of the dissemination of fake news on social media sites.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Air Pollution

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many government press releases have been issued since May 2014 alerting the media to an air pollution episode.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Defra routinely publishes on the UK-Air website Met Office air pollution forecasts and real-time monitoring data, which shows air pollution levels across the UK. Defra also issues daily tweets from the UK-Air Twitter account, which provides the latest information about current air pollution levels and health advice. These are followed by journalists who use this to inform their reporting, as well as health charities and campaign groups who regularly retweet information to vulnerable populations. Given that this system is in place, Defra does not routinely issue press releases during air pollution episodes, but has done so on three occasions. Since the beginning of May 2014 there have been 27 air pollution episodes. A total of 441 tweets have been issued from Defra’s UK-Air Twitter account on these occasions. Public Health England retweets these messages, as do their devolved counterparts in cases where episodes affect their territories. Defra also alerts its network of health charities on each occasion. These alerts provide full details of the nature of the air pollution episode, its anticipated duration and links to further information including specific health advice relevant to the episode. An air pollution episode is defined as a period during which the level of any measured pollutant monitored by the UK’s network of air pollution monitoring sites has recorded High or Very High against the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI). Also, when ozone is measured to have breached the Information threshold of 180 microgrammes per cubic metre for one hour (as defined in air quality legislation) this is classified as an air pollution episode.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Homelessness: Older People

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure older homeless people with additional needs, such as learning difficulties, mental health issues or drug and alcohol problems, receive the necessary support.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: This Government takes its commitment to preventing and tackling homelessness seriously and our approach includes support available to homeless people of all ages with multiple complex needs. Local authorities also play an important role in ensuring that vulnerable people receive the support they need.Before Christmas the Prime Minister announced the awarding of the £50 million Homelessness Prevention Fund to local areas right across the country, this included £10 million of Social Impact Bond funding for projects to support the most vulnerable rough sleepers in the country. This builds on the successful London Social Impact Bond whichsupported people with multiple and complex needs to exit homelessness.

Families: Disadvantaged

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 25 January (HL4381), what was the cost of resolving the errors in the original report; how that cost was met; and what reduction, if any, was made in the fee payable to National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NISER) resolved the errors made in the original report without drawing any further funding from DCLG. The costs to DCLG in identifying the errors and ensuring that NIESR rectified them were met through existing departmental resource. The peer review of this work was done on a pro bono basis by members of the existing Troubled Families independent advisory group comprising independent academics and analysts from other Government Departments. No reduction was made to the fee paid to NIESR.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Alcoholic Drinks

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to devise a strategy on alcohol use among veterans and serving personnel, and if so, when that strategy will be published.

Earl Howe: The Government's alcohol strategy designed to address the binge drinking culture within the UK and reduce alcohol ill-discipline was published by the Home Office on 23 March 2012.The Ministry of Defence (MOD) already has a package of measures in place to discourage alcohol misuse in the Armed Forces including education, training, discipline and treatment. The Defence People Health and Wellbeing Strategy was published in July 2016 which includes a section on alcohol misuse and measures to reduce the consumption of alcohol in the Armed Forces.More widely, the MOD has entered into partnerships with Public Health England as part of the 'One You' campaign and DrinkAware in their 'Have a Little Less, Feel a Lot Better' campaign. Both partnerships are designed to make everyone examine their lifestyle and make the changes necessary to live more healthily.Whilst the MOD strategy is aimed at serving personnel the ultimate aim is for individuals to transition back in to the wider community in optimum mental and physical health.

HM Treasury

Balance of Trade

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in (1) 2014, (2) 2015, and (3) 2016, what were the balance of trade figures between the UK and (a) France, (b) Germany, and (c) Italy.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The latest available estimates show that the UK ran a trade balance (a) with France of –£6.1 billion in 2014 and -£5.2 billion in 2015; (b) with Germany of –£24.7 billion in 2014 and -£25.3 billion in 2015 and (c) with Italy of -£4.8 billion in 2014 and -£3.9 billion in 2015. Data is currently unavailable for 2016.

Cabinet Office

Macquarie Group

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any former employees of Macquarie are acting as special advisers, or in an advisory capacity, in (1) Downing Street, (2) the Cabinet Office, or (3) the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Lord Young of Cookham: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Department of Health

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Public Health England plans to conduct tests on blood samples taken from passengers involved in a reported contaminated air incident aboard BA Flight 286 on 25 October 2016; and if not, why not.

Lord O'Shaughnessy: The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States was involved in the investigation of this event. Public Health England has confidence in any assessments done by the CDC, which is a highly competent authority that produces sound evidence-based advice.

Hospital Beds

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many hospital beds, on each day in the years (1) 2015, and (2) 2016, were filled by patients who could have been discharged; what estimate they have made of the numbers of such patients in 2017; and how they intend to tackle this issue.

Lord O'Shaughnessy: The information is not available in the format requested.